An end to Nordic exceptionalism? Europeanisation and Nordic development policies

The Nordic countries have traditionally been praised for their generous and advanced development policies. Recently, however, it has been claimed that the Nordic model has faded: that the Nordic donors have become more similar to other European donors. One possible reason for such trends is influences from EU policies, that is, Europeanisation. This article critically evaluates such claims by presenting arguments for and against Europeanisation effects. We argue that changes have indeed taken place. The Nordic exceptionalism has been eroded. At the same time, a convergence of European aid policies has occurred. The question is if this is the consequence of Europeanisation – or is it rather a result of Nordicisation (the Nordic countries influencing the EU), or perhaps like-mindisation (a broader set of progressive member states having impact upon EU policies)? We suggest that Europeanisation has been extremely weak while there is strong evidence of Nordicisation but also, and increasingly, of like-mindisation. Today, a core group of mainly northern member states, including the Nordics, are the main driving forces behind European aid convergence

The Impact and Design of the MDGs: Some Reflections

The MDGs appear to have been more influential than most other attempts at international target?setting in the field of development, at least at the level of international discourse. But has this translated into impact on either development policy or resource allocation, and if so has the impact been constructive or not? And what lessons does this suggest for any future target?setting proposals

Humanitarian aid as an integral part of the European Union's external action: the challenge of reconciling coherence and independence

The article focuses on the European Union's (EU) humanitarian aid policy. It addresses the challenge for the EU to deliver independent humanitarian aid while simultaneously seeking to establish more coherence between its external policies. The article examines how the EU tries to reconcile these potentially conflicting policy goals, both de jure and in practice. Empirically, it explores the interaction between EU humanitarian aid and development cooperation, the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and trade policy. While the independence of the humanitarian aid delivery is, for the most part, not being undermined, it remains difficult to establish positive synergies with other external policies because of institutional hurdles and legal constraints, as well as political obstacles and operational incompatibilities

Introduction: Why Reflect Collectively on Capacities for Change?

‘Capacity development’ implies a promise of growing self?reliance, national ownership and sustainability, yet practice seems consistently to fall short of this emancipatory promise. This introduction argues for a reframing of capacity development for emancipatory social change. Articles in this IDS Bulletin show how understanding and practice must engage with complexity, appreciate the importance of specific culture and context, and continually address the role of power in shaping relationships, understandings and practices. Values and leadership are fundamental drivers of capacity development processes. This IDS Bulletin argues against a deficit approach based on linear causal logic and replicable ‘best practice’. Instead, practitioners are encouraged to develop a detailed understanding of the culture and dynamics of specific contexts, to detect energies for positive change and work to connect and facilitate them. Learning is at the centre of the approach. Capacity development is understood as a collective process of learning in action for social change. Support for capacity development processes demands a critical development practice that implies mutual learning, with an emphasis on reflective and experiential approaches. However, this reframing implies enormous challenges for development practice, and therefore considerable personal and organisational commitment

Introduction: Aid?effectiveness, Prisoners' Dilemmas, and Country Allocations

SUMMARY In theory — and in project and country experience — aid has proved its potential to stimulate growth, and sometimes to reduce poverty. But the record has been worsening, for four reasons. First, donors' self?interest impedes their attempts to help recipients to improve policy. Second, each donor (and each recipient ministry), in pursuing its own interests, damages the total performance of aid. Third, the recent shifts from project to programme aid require better support with manpower training, and subtler concepts of ‘policy dialogue’. Finally, the growing scandal of country aid allocations needs attention. SOMMAIRE Introduction: l'efficacité de l'aide, les dilemmes de prisonnier, et l'allocation par pays En théorie — et en pratique (des projets et des pays) — l'aide a démontré le potentiel de stimuler la croissance, et a parfois réduit la pauvreté. Mais la situation s'est détériorée pour quatre raisons. D'abord, le propre intérêt des donneurs mine leurs efforts d'aider les pays recevants à améliorer leurs politiques. En second lieu, chaque donneur (et chaque ministère récipient), en agissant selon ses propres intérêts, amoindrit les résultats totaux de l'aide. Troisièmement, la réorientation récente de l'aide aux projets, vers de l'aide aux programmes, exige une soutenance améliorée, et des concepts plus raffinés de dialogue de la politique. Enfin, il faut tirer l'attention sur le scandal aggrandissant de l'allocation de l'aide par pays. RESUMEN Introducción: Efectividad de la ayuda, dilemas de los prisioneros y distribución por paises En teoría, así como en la experiencia relativa a proyectos y a países, la ayuda ha probado su potencialidad para estimular el crecimiento y, a veces, para reducir la pobreza. No obstante, los impactos positivos de la ayuda han ido menguando debido a cuatro razones. Primero, los intereses propios de los donantes interfieren sus intentos para ayudar a mejorar las políticas a los receptores. Segundo, cada donante (y cada ministerio receptor) al perseguir su propio interés, daña el resultado total de la ayuda. Tercero, los cambios recientes de la ayuda de proyectos a programas, requieren de un mejor apoyo que implica entrenamiento en capacitación y el concepto sutil ‘diálogo sobre politicas’. Finalmente, el creciente escándalo sobre la asignación de la ayuda por países, requiere atención

"More money for health - more health for the money": a human resources for health perspective

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>At the MDG Summit in September 2010, the UN Secretary-General launched the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health. Central within the Global Strategy are the ambitions of "more money for health" and "more health for the money". These aim to leverage more resources for health financing whilst simultaneously generating more results from existing resources - core tenets of public expenditure management and governance. This paper considers these ambitions from a human resources for health (HRH) perspective.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using data from the UK Department for International Development (DFID) we set out to quantify and qualify the British government's contributions on HRH in developing countries and to establish a baseline.. To determine whether activities and financing could be included in the categorisation of 'HRH strengthening' we adopted the Agenda for Global Action on HRH and a WHO approach to the 'working lifespan' of health workers as our guiding frameworks. To establish a baseline we reviewed available data on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and country reports, undertook a new survey of HRH programming and sought information from multilateral partners.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In financial year 2008/9 DFID spent £901 million on direct 'aid to health'. Due to the nature of the Creditor Reporting System (CRS) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) it is not feasible to directly report on HRH spending. We therefore employed a process of imputed percentages supported by detailed assessment in twelve countries. This followed the model adopted by the G8 to estimate ODA on maternal, newborn and child health. Using the G8's model, and cognisant of its limitations, we concluded that UK 'aid to health' on HRH strengthening is approximately 25%.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In quantifying DFID's disbursements on HRH we encountered the constraints of the current CRS framework. This limits standardised measurement of ODA on HRH. This is a governance issue that will benefit from further analysis within more comprehensive programmes of workforce science, surveillance and strategic intelligence. The Commission on Information and Accountability for Women's and Children's Health may present an opportunity to partially address the limitations in reporting on ODA for HRH and present solutions to establish a global baseline.</p

Global Capital Market Volatility and the Developing Countries: Lessons from the East Asian Crisis

Summary The emerging global economy is characterised by the virtually free movement of capital, while labour is still essentially confined to the nation state. The East Asian crisis has revealed the extent to which international financial ‘architecture’ does not yet correspond to this reality – let alone resolve its inconsistencies. The consequent public action problem is analysed in this article by first addressing the global causes of emerging market volatility and the failure of international financial institutions (such as the IMF) to contain it. The current attempt to extend multilateral bank regulation towards emerging markets is shown to suffer from severe limitations, as do proposals for mutual regulatory recognition and a global credit insurance system. The prospects for establishing a binding set of rules for global investment, with logical consequences for both multilateral capital taxation and international debt resolution, are improving, but remain problematic due to the ‘missing institutions’ required to create an orderly global capital market. The article concludes with an unexpected implication for the concept of citizenship itself